Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar today described India as heaven for tourism and asked the Indians to explore domestic tourist destinations first before looking at international travel. Referring to Bharat's long civilizational history and rich cultural heritage, he underlined that most of the tourist places in the country have a deep connect with our history, folk arts and ancient texts.<br />''     <br />''Addressing a gathering after presenting National Tourism Awards for the year 2018-19 in New Delhi today, Mr. Dhankar termed tourism a key driver of economic growth and employment generation in the country. Referring to multiple dimensions to the tourism, the Vice President stressed the need for fully leveraging the India's immense potential in the field of medical tourism as well as the growing global interest in our ancient practices of healing such as Ayurveda and Yoga.<br />''     <br />''On this occasion, the Vice President also released 'India Tourism Statistics 2022' and launched an e-book GoBeyond:75 Experiences of North India. Earlier Tourism and Culture Minister G. Kishan Reddy said government has prepared a draft for National Tourism Policy 2022. Its vision of New India on high trajectory of growth and prosperity.<br />''<br />''The policy aims at improving framework conditions for tourism Development in the country, supporting tourism industries, strengthening tourism support functions and developing tourism sub-sectors. Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Ajay Bhatt also addressed the gathering.<br />''<br />''<br />